Following the closure of the Sint-Niklaas Hospital in Kortrijk in 2010, the GVO residential care group decided to build a new residential care centre (WZC) on that historic site in the heart of the city, so that the residents’ lives could be integrated into city life. URA brought this vision to life convincingly.

The new building is situated on a block bordering the Houtmarkt, the Plein (a triangular park), the Voorstraat and Sint-Niklaasstraat, and responds precisely to its surroundings. On the entrance side – the Houtmarkt – URA set the building’s building line back, thereby creating a transitional space from the narrow passageway between the Houtmarkt and the Plein. An undeveloped strip measuring 25 by 45 metres, between the new building and a row of residential units belonging to the care home on the Plein, effectively turns this transitional space into an antechamber to the care home.